Innovative Strategies For Retargeting Campaigns

Should you retarget by intent? We ran the test... Most B2B retargeting looks something like this: Someone visits your site, any page at all…and immediately: they’re getting hit with “Book a demo” or “Start your free trial” ads. No nuance. No context. Just one-size-fits-all messaging chasing every visitor around the internet. It’s simple. It’s easy. But also pretty broken. Here’s why: > Not everyone on your site is in the same headspace. > Blog readers aren’t ready to talk to sales. > Product page visitors are curious but not convinced. And people on the demo page? They’re this close but something’s holding them back. Treating all three the same? That’s how you burn ad dollars without actually building pipeline. So we ran a test. One of our clients had a basic retargeting setup. One campaign. One CTA. One generic message. We broke it apart and rebuilt it based on intent. ___________________________ Here’s how we segmented it: Blog readers Top-of-funnel folks in research mode. → We showed them value-first content: guides, checklists, downloads. Product & feature page visitors Mid-funnel visitors sniffing around the solution. → We served ROI calculators, interactive tools, and “how do you stack up” style CTAs. Pricing/demo page visitors Bottom-of-funnel leads with real buying signals. → They saw direct “Book a demo” and “Start your trial” ads with tons of social proof. ___________________________ Here’s what happened over 60 days: Old campaign (one-size-fits-all): > Low click-through rates (~0.4%) > Modest form fill volume > Demo-to-close rates hovering around 17% New segmented retargeting: > 3.1x higher CTR > 2.4x more total form fills > 29% increase in demo-to-close conversion from high-intent segments ___________________________ Better message-match. Cleaner funnel transitions. Better results.

Remarketing is often the misunderstood middle child of performance marketing. Let’s break a couple of myths🔨 🎯 One size fits all fits probably no one:  I’ve seen many companies burn money on campaigns that don’t recognize that every section of their audience has their own motivations. Why, if I had a penny for every time I visited a site with no intent to purchase their product at all, only to spot a “Schedule a Demo Today” ad by them on whichever site I visit, I’d probably be the richest guy in SaaS! I read somewhere that 84% of users either ignore or are put off by retargeting ads! Shows how important it is to get it right. Start doing these things: - Segment visitors by page depth (1 page vs 3+ pages) - Track time-on-site thresholds (>2 min = higher intent) - Create separate campaigns for pricing page visitors vs. blog readers Tailor your content based on your audience’s behavior and stage in the buyer journey (URL path visitors, action completers, cart abandoners) 🎯 Retargeting works like a mosquito coil:  Retargeting is not plug and play, and it typically doesn’t stop with one level. Retarget for all customer stages. Not only demo and trial signups. This insulates your prospects from leaving the funnel midway. We’ve had cases where we spent thousands of dollars on a retargeting campaign only to make zero sales. But here’s what happened afterward ⭐ : When we triggered another retargeting campaign for the warmer folks from the previous campaign, giving them BOFU content, we made sales. A lot of it! What’s to learn here? You’re unlikely to be bet on with just the first touch point. You have to build that awareness consistently. Create a 3-tier remarketing structure: > Tier 1 (Cold): Educational content, industry reports > Tier 2 (Warm): Case studies, comparison guides > Tier 3 (Hot): Free trials, demos, limited-time offers Build custom audiences for each segment, assign specific content types to each, and implement frequency caps based on ‘bucket temperature’. Also, the focus should also be on increasing the credibility of your company rather than only pushing them towards the CTA. Here's one customized Google + LinkedIn campaign strategy we used for a client recently. What are some retargeting tactics that’s worked for you?

Retargeting is a secret weapon in demand generation. Any retargeting is generally going to produce better results than cold audience marketing, but there are strategic ways to generate even more. Below is real data from a Storybook Marketing client campaign, where we were promoting a high-value asset to audiences on LinkedIn. Before we took over the program, there had been an existing retargeting group which was a relative 'catch-all' for all kinds of behavior: - All website visits over the last 90 days - Interactions with all ads (clicks/form fills) over the last 90 days When compared to the cold audience who had no prior engagement, this audience was already a superior one - getting a 3.5x better click through rate and a 77% lower cost/lead, and was the only audience of the two that actually resulted in MQLs. Without a doubt, the general retargeting audience was a better option when promoting high-value assets that require some consideration before a conversion. But wait, there's more! We also built out much more orchestrated retargeting groups, based on specific topics, page types, and campaigns, so that we would have a much more recent and relevant touchpoints so that we could build an orchestrated journey. And the results show the value of that effort: - Additional 40% improvement in CTR - Additional 58% improvement in CPL - Additional 26% improvement in cpMQL The more co-ordinated a marketing journey is, the better the outcomes tend to be. Of course, this isn't always possible and we certainly don't control their journey, but we can co-ordinate our own efforts better. In this case, most of that effort was simply the creation of some more focused retargeting groups and it reduced the CPL by over 90% compared to the cold audience.

How we approach Retargeting This is a huge part of our campaign strategy at Flying V Group Digital Marketing Here are 15 unique ways we approach it 1. Segment Your Audience ↪ We create custom audience segments based on actions like page views, cart abandonment, and engagement to deliver highly relevant ads. 2. Dynamic Retargeting Ads ↪ We use dynamic ads that showcase the exact products users interacted with, boosting relevance and conversion rates. 3. Multi-Channel Retargeting ↪ We extend your retargeting campaigns across various platforms (Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc.) to reach users wherever they are. 4. Use AI-Powered Predictive Retargeting ↪ We leverage AI tools to predict which users are most likely to convert and prioritize them in your campaigns. 5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Targeting ↪ We retarget high-value customers with tailored offers, increasing the potential for repeat sales. 6. Exclude Converted Users ↪ We automatically exclude users who’ve already completed a purchase to avoid wasting ad spend. 7. Sequential Retargeting ↪ We show a sequence of ads based on the user’s journey to guide them down the conversion funnel. 8. Engage with Cart Abandoners ↪ We create ads specifically targeting users who abandoned their shopping carts with incentives like discounts or free shipping. 9. Set Frequency Caps ↪ We prevent ad fatigue by limiting how often a user sees your retargeting ads. 10. Time-Based Retargeting ↪ We use time intervals (e.g., 1 day, 7 days) to retarget users depending on how recently they interacted with your site. 11. Behavioral Retargeting ↪ We target users based on specific behaviors such as content views, interactions with specific categories, or even search history. 12. Cross-Device Retargeting ↪ We ensure your retargeting efforts follow users across devices to maintain consistency and increase chances of conversion. 13. Retarget Engaged Email Subscribers ↪ We use your email list to retarget subscribers who have opened or clicked your emails but haven’t converted yet. 14. Geolocation Retargeting ↪ We use location-based retargeting to show ads to users who are near your physical store or specific events. 15. Use Social Proof in Ads ↪ We incorporate customer reviews or testimonials in your retargeting ads to increase credibility and trust. You're missing out on solid warm leads when you don't invest in retargeting. Agree?

1,322 meetings generated this year Outbound Sales Team = 0 - Here's how 👇 1. Cold/Initial Ads Build Awareness, Not Instant Sales We run cold ads to drive targeted traffic to our website—not to a lead gen form. Here’s the reality: B2B buyers aren’t impulse-buying $3k–$10k+ solutions on their first visit. 3% of cold traffic converts to meetings. Meaningful first impressions with possible prospects at scale... Channels We Use to Drive Cold Traffic: Google Ads (Paid Search) Paid Listings (e.g., Clutch, Influencer Marketing Hub) LinkedIn Cold Ads SEO Organic Social (like this post and YouTube for us) And yes, tell your boss to chill out! 🥶 Raining sales from cold ads isn't a thing in B2B 2. Retargeting: Build Trust, Not Friction Most buyers don’t convert on their first visit. Why? A. It’s not the right time—they’re still researching. B. They don’t know or trust you yet. C. They don’t see you as an expert compared to competitors. Our Retargeting Strategy: Focus on overcoming B + C by distributing content that builds trust and credibility and dripping in subject matter expertise where possible. Types of Retargeting Ads We Run: Case studies Expert advice & audits Testimonials Community-focused 3rd Party Validation The goal? Build trust, and position ourselves as the experts they turn to when they’re ready to buy. 3. Retargeting Intensity based on signals We adjust retargeting intensity based on their last intent-based action: 0–30 Days: High-intensity ads (4-5/week) focused on building trust. 30–90 Days: Mid-intensity ads (2-3/week) focused on demonstrating expertise. 90–180 Days: Low-intensity nurture (1-2/week) to stay top of mind without overwhelming them. This layered approach ensures prospects feel informed and comfortable reaching out when the time is right. We can't force them into being ready to buy, but we can look for signals that indicate they might be closer to making a decision and try to move ourselves higher up the consideration ladder. 4. Take an Ecosystem approach to marketing Most marketing departments fail in this next area. Setting up marketing channels as silos disconnected from the others vs an ecosystem that flows in and out of each other. A. Paid search traffic is often still the life-blood of in-market traffic with shorter sales cycles -Leverage LinkedIn ads to qualify and convert this traffic more efficiently and consistently B. Retarget your prospects on multiple channels to create the "everywhere" effect that improves recall and builds trust C. Ensure your content is worth distributing by ensuring it's dripping in subject matter expertise where possible D. Identify website visitors and own your 1st party data where possible for more personalized messaging strategies E. Leverage paid channels to drive organic community growth and always cross-pollinate your organic communities if possible. That's all for now! #B2BMarketing #LinkedInAds #DemandGen #InboundMarketing